Rhetorical Analysis – T-Mobile

You probably can’t watch TV for more than ten minutes these days without seeing a cell phone commercial, which may not necessarily be a bad thing because they are some of the most creative commercials in recent memory. Of all the cell phone commercials, however, T-Mobile MyFaves are my very favorite, so I picked one of them to analyze.

T-Mobile Creepy Daddy Commercial

The argument of this advertisement is that getting a T-Mobile phone will help parents regulate their children’s activities and keep them in check. The general audience is anybody who may be inclined to purchase a cell phone, and the specific audience of this commercial is any parent who wants to keep in close contact with his or her children, which, not coincidentally, happens to be a popular reason to get a cell phone in the first place.

The ad uses persuasion on several different levels. It is credible because many people recognize T-Mobile as a legitimate company and may even know people who have phones from T-Mobile. This ad also reaches out to the emotions of a parent who cares for the well-being of his or her child and wants to make sure that he or she is okay. This particular situation uses humor to effectively convey the dramatized feelings of a protective father. The father in the commercial uses his patriarchal influence and exalted spot in his daughter’s phone to intimidate her date before they go out that evening – and you better believe that kid’s going to have her home right on time, if not early! What father wouldn’t want this kind of result? Finally, the logical side of the advertisement is that using a cell phone is an affordable way to stay close to those who are important to you. If sending a text message or even just having a phone will help build relationships, then many people will invest in the amazing technology that is a cellular phone.

I feel that this is an effective advertisement to its target audience. On a personal level I find this ad very funny to watch, but I also happen to know that my dad (who has two teenage daughters and another who will eventually become a teenage daughter) enjoys it thoroughly as well.